United
Perhaps to show the importance attached to the Moxi Duchy, or perhaps to demonstrate its strength to the outside world, this wedding can be summed up in two words: grand!
As an onlooker, Hudson felt like a complete country bumpkin. He thought his wedding was grand enough, but it couldn't compare to Crown Prince Caesar's wedding at all.
The Kingdom Mage Corps were all working on this wedding, using purely natural artificial magic to create a beautiful fairytale world.
Immersed in the moment, Hudson almost couldn't distinguish between reality and fantasy. It was safe to say that this grand wedding would shake the entire Aslant Continent.
If Hudson hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have known that magic could be used in this way. Indeed, there's nothing that can't be done if you put your mind to it.
While other human nations continued to develop and progress, the Alpha Kingdom was not idle either.
Perhaps due to limited funding, it has indeed lagged behind in some aspects, but it has also taken the lead in other areas.
War is the driving force behind human technological progress. How could the Alpha Kingdom, which has been under high pressure for a long time, possibly stop making progress?
What appears to be a beautiful fairytale world can, with the slightest alteration, become a human-killing machine.
The astonished looks on the faces of the guests showed that the grand wedding had come to a successful conclusion.
Caesar III's move was not only meant to intimidate the nations of the continent, but also to serve as a silent warning to the nobles within his own country.
"Hudson, something big is about to happen in the Royal Capital. As one of the military representatives, what are your plans?"
Count Oran's voice rang in his ears, pulling Hudson back from his reverie. Having commanded the national army once, Hudson was directly assigned to the military camp.
There's nothing wrong with him, except that he has connections to the military, but he has virtually no say in politics. He also has no place in the civil service system.
"The situation is somewhat complicated, and I am in a difficult position now. His Majesty summoned us here mainly for tax collection, but in reality, it is a power struggle between the great nobles and the Royal Authority."
The crux of the conflict lies in the distribution of the monster cubs. As a representative of the military, I naturally want to prioritize the needs of the monster legion; however, as a member of the high nobility, I also...
Ugh, what a hassle!
Hudson feigned difficulty and sighed.
"Where you stand determines where you stand," and the Hollisir Family is now a member of the great aristocratic group. Although they are at the bottom of the hierarchy, their family interests still determine their stance.
Even among allies, when it comes to specific interests, Hudson doesn't dare expect everyone to always share the same stance. Appropriate reservations are beneficial to everyone.
"Once you enter this circle, you often find yourself powerless. Hudson, given your status and position, you were destined to be involved in this situation."
Sooner or later we'll have to take a stand, so rather than being forced to, we might as well take the initiative now and seize the opportunity to gain some advantages!
Although not explicitly stated, Hudson understood Count Oran's meaning. He simply wanted to bring Hudson into his faction to increase the Hollisir Family's influence within it.
Hudson didn't rush to take sides, but he was well aware of the political factions within the kingdom.
As the second-largest family in the former Southeast Province, the Hollisir Family had always been the target of suppression. In order to counter the Dalton Family, they had no choice but to submit to the King's command.
With the rise of the Hudson family, the Coslo Family replaced the Hollisir Family's original role and became a new force to counterbalance the Dalton Family.
With a successor, the Hollisir Family gained the opportunity to expand Southeast Province. This northward expansion was not only the Count Oran's own choice, but also the King's.
Without the strong support of Caesar III, it would not have been so easy for the Hollisir Family, which had performed poorly in the war, to stand out from its many competitors.
As far as Hudson knew, in addition to siding with the King politically, the Hollisir Family also maintained close relationships with many of the country's great nobles.
It's not just the Hollisir Family; many nobles in the kingdom are like this, making it difficult to categorize political factions using a single, unified standard.
It is common for a noble family to belong to several major camps at the same time, or to maintain close relations with multiple political factions.
The most common practice is to side with one group on one issue, and with another group on another issue.
It can be said that apart from the Northern Nobles, who are a relatively stable political group, the other political factions in the kingdom are often intertwined, with complex internal relationships that are difficult to unravel.
Even the noble faction currently vying with the King is essentially just a power struggle over the distribution of monster cubs.
An alliance is formed temporarily for the sake of immediate interests. Once the interests are achieved or the alliance fails in the political game, the temporary alliance will dissolve.
From this perspective, although the internal struggles within the Alpha Kingdom are intense, they are relatively mild compared to the factional divisions in other countries on the continent.
"Rest assured, Count Oran. The situation is indeed complex, but the outcome was predetermined from the start."
Without the threat of the Orc Empire, the nobles in the kingdom were no longer willing to provide high military expenditures, and this distribution of monster cubs was just the fuse.
Even without this incident, something else would have sparked conflict. Given the prevailing trend, no one can stop the kingdom's cuts to military spending!
Hudson reminded him.
Political issues are never isolated. What may seem simple and straightforward are often interconnected.
If it weren't for this trip to the Royal Capital and the subsequent contact with several military generals, Hudson wouldn't have been able to figure out the underlying relationships in such a short time.
Upon hearing "cut military spending," Count Oran frowned. Since the end of the war, the kingdom had been continuously reducing its military and cutting military expenditures.
However, due to the Warcraft Legion plan, the kingdom's military budget this year still exceeds that before the war.
Among the various human nations on the Aslant Continent, the Alpha Kingdom has consistently had the highest military expenditure ratio.
Most of the time, military spending accounts for more than 70% of the fiscal budget, and occasionally, in extreme cases, it exceeds 90%.
With the threat of external enemies, no one would object to the high military expenditures. But now that the external enemies have disappeared, the situation has changed.
"Hudson, do you mean the King will compromise?"
"The Count Oran said in a flustered manner."
A powerful Standing Army is not only a strong means for the Alpha Kingdom to deter external enemies, but also an effective measure for the kingdom to suppress internal conflicts.
No matter which noble family or political group, their military strength is far inferior to that of the kingdom's Standing Army.
With this powerful Standing Army, the kingdom is able to effectively maintain the rules of the game and keep internal struggles within the bounds of those rules.
If the military budget is drastically cut, the strength of the Standing Army will inevitably be greatly weakened, and the authority of the central government will also be affected.
This was certainly not good news for the Hollisir Family, who had just moved their headquarters to the North.
If it weren't for the central government suppressing the Northern Nobles, these outsiders who hadn't yet established themselves would never have had a good life.
"Don't you already have the answer in your heart?"
"However, His Majesty's methods should not be underestimated. Even if he agrees to reduce military spending, there will be conditions."
If my judgment is correct, then the power of the royal family will enter a period of rapid expansion.
A glance at the kingdom map reveals that of the thirty-two provinces, the royal family occupies two in the central region and three in the north. The royal territories distributed across the other provinces combined are roughly equivalent to the size of a single province.
Apart from the three northern provinces, the remaining areas are densely populated and economically developed regions. In terms of overall strength, even those Northern Nobles probably wouldn't dare claim to surpass the royal family.
Once the development of the three northern provinces is complete, the royal family's advantage will become increasingly apparent. It's important to understand that, apart from the royal family, no other noble family in the kingdom has the power to monopolize an entire province!
For His Majesty, there is absolutely no need to confront everyone head-on now; he should simply proceed with the development of the royal territory step by step!
..."
Count Oran might not be unaware of these issues. It's just that the Hollisir Family is deeply entangled in the situation, with too many vested interests involved, making an objective and impartial analysis impossible.
Hudson originally didn't want to cause trouble, but the Hollisir Family was his in-laws and his only ally among the great nobles.
If Count Oran fails to see through the mystery in time and gets caught up in the storm, the Coslo Family will also be dragged down.
"The opportunity we've been waiting for has finally arrived!"
As it turns out, our earlier silence was the right thing to do. Without us putting pressure on them, those bastards would have fallen into infighting on their own.
"Duke Thorsten said excitedly."
Since the suicides of the five dukes who had just taken office, the Northern Noble Faction has faced a series of suppressions.
Not only were they deprived of the right to distribute the spoils of war, but even officials in the court who belonged to the Northern Nobles faction were sent home.
The entire Northern Nobles faction was plunged into turmoil, and at one point even teetered on the brink of collapse.
Faced with a complex situation, the five newly appointed dukes, after much deliberation, decided on a strategic retreat. They adopted a policy of political restraint externally and focused on stabilizing the domestic situation.
This forbearance lasted for a year and a half. During this time, the Northern Noble Faction acted like obedient children, never retaliating when insulted or attacked. No matter how the enemy provoked them, they showed no intention of fighting back.
Often, before the enemy can even act, they preemptively sell off their overseas assets, completely withdrawing their influence back into their own territory. This leaves all sides unsure of how to proceed.
After all that fuss, seeing that they had gotten all the benefits they could, everyone shifted their focus and stopped targeting those few families.
"It's still a bit too early to talk about these things now. Although they had a dispute with Caesar III because of the Warcraft Legion, these conflicts ultimately did not erupt."
Judging from the current situation, all parties are still exercising restraint. His King summoned everyone under the pretext of the Crown Prince's wedding, rather than directly addressing the issue of taxes, precisely to leave ample room for maneuver.
This incident will at most cause some division among them. To escalate the conflict between the parties, a catalyst is needed.
Especially in situations like these, we must remain calm. Any rash actions could draw attention back to us from all sides!
Duke Rodriguez's cold water extinguished everyone's enthusiasm.
We finally managed to get everyone's attention away from them, and if we accidentally draw it back, we'll be at a huge loss!
Being watched by the King and a group of nobles every day, while it may not be possible to do anything to them, it can certainly prevent them from accomplishing anything.
"Actually, there is a way to break the deadlock, but not now."
We are now in the era of Caesar III, and he orchestrated our current predicament. It is virtually impossible for him to overturn his previous decisions.
But our good King is not in good health. According to intelligence gathered by our spies, Caesar III has fainted three times and coughed up blood seventy-eight times in the past year.
He doesn't seem like the type to live a long life. Perhaps this year, perhaps next year, but the era of Caesar III is coming to an end.
Compared to His Majesty the King, who wished nothing more than to get rid of us, His Highness the Crown Prince's attitude towards us was completely different.
During the last rescue of the Moxi Duchy, His Highness the Crown Prince inadvertently lost tens of thousands of the Kingdom Army, directly offending the nobles of the southeastern provinces.
He needs supporters now, and if we make contact with him discreetly, I think His Highness the Crown Prince would not refuse our goodwill.
Duke Xilo then made a suggestion.
While relations between the royal family and the Northern Nobles were tense, this did not mean that the two sides had no contact in private.
Perhaps because they shared similar ideals, Xilo and Crown Prince Caesar always had a good relationship. Even though they belonged to opposing camps, it didn't prevent them from becoming friends.
The proposal to join forces at this time was clearly pre-arranged.
"Xilo, you should know the King's attitude towards us. Once he discovers our contact with the Crown Prince, who knows what will happen next?"
Due to historical reasons, our five families have always had a terrible reputation in the kingdom. If His Majesty the King were to take action against us, there would be no shortage of people who would take advantage of our misfortune!
Duke Anhel, standing to the side, said with a worried expression.
This wasn't due to any selfish motives; it was simply because their ancestors had offended too many people. By their generation, they didn't know where to begin in trying to repair relations with all sides.
"Don't worry, Anhel! The King is not a problem; His Highness the Crown Prince will naturally have a way to handle him."
As a seasoned politician, His Majesty the King only sees interests; hatred has never been a problem for him!
Besides, the royal territories have been reclaimed, and the hatred between us and the royal family is not as deep as it used to be.
"Xilo said with great confidence."